Nice Weekend ~ Some Ups Some Downs

While backing around to leave for church yesterday, there was a loud metal crunch noise from the front end of the van. At first I thought I backed over the wagon (which is usually strategically placed behind the wheel of a vehicle), but no. Couldn't find anything wrong. So down the driveway I went, but the steering didn't seem right. Not wanting to miss church, I decided to keep going, but when I turned out of the drive, there was the CRUNK of metal breaking and I was pretty sure it was a ball joint going or a tie rod. So I gingerly backed the thing up the driveway where it is now waiting for the tow truck.

I was going to take a couple kids to my cousin's place in the cities; they were having an open house for my second cousin (sort of removed on my mother's side) who is on leave from the war in Iraq. Since we were somewhat stranded with the van out of comission, the little girls decided to work on their fort. It is actually the old entryway that was butted up against our little trailer (where we lived while building the house). The girls plan is to move in there when they grow up so they can always be by me :) I hope they do :)
Reuben and Becca decided to build their own fort. Mary helped them, and they actually had a nice time together (!!!). I sat out by the fire and read for a while... No, this is not a funeral pyre (picture coming later... blogger is most uncooperative today), but burniture that my brother brought up last week. Many times people will bring us junk furniture that is of no use except to burn... thus "burniture."
This weekend was the Minnesota holiday: Opening deer hunting. No one got a deer yet, but that is ok with them. If they got a deer right off, then hunting would be over and they like to go out in the woods and freeze their butts off sitting in a tree every day for the full 16 day season.